Obviously, there has been a LOT of criticism about the 'Patriot Way' from fans and media both in and outside of Boston. First of all, that term is mostly a media creation, if not a COMPLETE media creation. I do believe Bill Belichick has not ever publicly endorsed the term, and in fact has denied any knowledge of any such term in classic BB fashion. Kraft, however, I do believe has embraced the term in the past.

I've heard a lot about how it's "Winning at all costs."

Also how it carries an air of superiority both performance wise, ethically, and intelligence-wise.

Seems a lot of people have a serious inferiority complex.

I've always been a BIG believer in what BB has done. Well 'always' for the past 12 years. That being said, I'd always considered the 'Patriot Way' being about getting football players first and fore-most. Guys that breath, eat, sleep, drink, live and LOVE football.

That's what even got Brady his draft slot. He wasn't physically gifted. He didn't have great measurables. He fought for every snap even as they kept getting taken away at Michigan. He busted his @ss from Day 1 with the Pats and never looked back.

I always thought "Patriot Way" was kind of BS. There's definitely a Belichick way, but that has to do with coaching and a philosophy of team building and, as you say, a desire to have everyone on the team completely dedicated to football, a team-first attitude, and doing their job. Kraft has (in my opinion) a bit inflated idea of the "specialness" of his team, but that's to be expected, I think, from a team owner, right? It's his baby, after all, and everyone thinks their own baby is special.

A lof of what's associated with the term "Patriot Way" seems, as you say, to be either a media or a fan creation. That's what seems like a lot of BS to me. The Patriots are just a football team--one with a great coach, a great QB, and a great owner. But I don't see anything all that different or special about their culture when compared with other great teams.

Recall the Pats running out as a team in the first Super Bowl. That was not a media creation. That was the Pats saying we do things differently here - we're about the team.

I do think it's fair to say Belichick never bought into or propogated that stuff. But Belichick has qualities that both reinforced and added to this in different ways that make it pretty complicated.

Win at all costs - that's not a media creation either. That's Spygate. That's Belichick having the hubris to ignore a specific letter of warning from the league. And underesimating the animosity of the Jets.

That became part of it. Not all the Pats fault because many teams had similar programs. But it added to the perception.

But for Belichick it was always about guys who loved football players - smart football players. Not really about character - though we took less chances on "character" issues pre Corey Dillon. That wasn't about anything but value, getting value any way you can.

Of course the problem is that smart football players means problems as you have to ignore guys who are pure athletes if they can't grasp your system.

Point is that "Patriots Way" is a lot of stuff mixed together.

But Kraft and Belichick always had different ways of thinking about it and going about it.

My hope is that they are still on the same page. I'm sure there are some interesting conversations that will happen.

Football first is part of it, but "DO YOUR JOB" and "HOLD OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE" is the other part. A team can be more than a sum of its parts and all winning teams demonstrate this. That is what the patriots way means to me. The last part was "Give back to the community" So to generate a list:

1. Football/Team First

2. Do your Job

3. Hold Others Accountable

4. Work Hard

5. Give back to the community

Seem to be the cornerstones of the patriot's way... at least the way I see it.

--- " I am a happy fan, a proud fan and I want us to win every game 28-0 but as long as we win, the team is united and has a sense of respect to the community and the game I will be a patriots fan and damn proud of it." ---- signed a pats fan from middle earth

Recall the Pats running out as a team in the first Super Bowl. That was not a media creation. That was the Pats saying we do things differently here - we're about the team.

I do think it's fair to say Belichick never bought into or propogated that stuff. But Belichick has qualities that both reinforced and added to this in different ways that make it pretty complicated.

Win at all costs - that's not a media creation either. That's Spygate. That's Belichick having the hubris to ignore a specific letter of warning from the league. And underesimating the animosity of the Jets.

That became part of it. Not all the Pats fault because many teams had similar programs. But it added to the perception.

But for Belichick it was always about guys who loved football players - smart football players. Not really about character - though we took less chances on "character" issues pre Corey Dillon. That wasn't about anything but value, getting value any way you can.

Of course the problem is that smart football players means problems as you have to ignore guys who are pure athletes if they can't grasp your system.

Point is that "Patriots Way" is a lot of stuff mixed together.

But Kraft and Belichick always had different ways of thinking about it and going about it.

My hope is that they are still on the same page. I'm sure there are some interesting conversations that will happen.

I couldn't agree more. This "Patriot Way" thing I believe has been endorsed by the Krafts and rightfully so, if I owned a team I'd like to think I had some part in it's success and having a business model (the patriot way) would allow me to feel like I had done something. That's why I think this latest turn of events has to be devastating to Kraft, because this hits his department the most.

I don't believe Belichick was ever into this "Patriot Way" thing, I believe he just wants hard working, talented football players. I'm not saying he would turn the other cheak and sign a potential murderer, but I highly doubt he would hesitate to acquire questionable characters if they loved football and could play it at a high level.

I really hope Kraft and Belichick can see eye to eye going forward, because I'm sure Kraft is going to be asking Belichick some very difficult questions in the coming weeks. And honestly I don't hink Belichick will feel like he needs to answer to him (or anybody), he has worked hard and brought success to this team, he has made quite a name for himself in the NFL and he could go anywhere and name his price and title. If I'm Kraft I tread very lightly on Belichick with this one.

Hey this is football and we are no different than anyone else, which is why I always thought "The Patriot Way" was overblown. Look at the players the origanal poster listed...

At least two of those guys are not the nicest guys you are going to meet...not guys you would think of when saying "The Patriot Way". Ted Washington is a homophobic guy that pinned the trainer against the team bus (he was gay) in San Fran and began to force himself onto him while player's families watched on, this was written about 10 years ago in ESPN the magazine. And everyone knows Bryan Cox was the bad boy of the NFL for years - I was at training camp the day they signed him...the team stunk...everyone was hurt, there wasn't much talent out there and the general consensus was that we were going to finish dead last in the division. There was only two things positive I saw that day, one was Richard Seymore (a rookie at the time) driving offensive lienmen into the ground like he was a sledge hammer and they were stakes (I had never seen anything like it). And the other thing was watching Scott Pioli walk out to Belichick fist pumping and all smiles - I wondered what the hell were they so happy about? On the ride home weei announced we had just signed Bryan Cox.

I always thought "Patriot Way" was kind of BS. There's definitely a Belichick way, but that has to do with coaching and a philosophy of team building and, as you say, a desire to have everyone on the team completely dedicated to football, a team-first attitude, and doing their job. Kraft has (in my opinion) a bit inflated idea of the "specialness" of his team, but that's to be expected, I think, from a team owner, right? It's his baby, after all, and everyone thinks their own baby is special.

A lof of what's associated with the term "Patriot Way" seems, as you say, to be either a media or a fan creation. That's what seems like a lot of BS to me. The Patriots are just a football team--one with a great coach, a great QB, and a great owner. But I don't see anything all that different or special about their culture when compared with other great teams.

He must feel his team is special since buying the team in 1994 we have been to more Super bowls, won more Super Bowls, and won more games then any other team in the league.(almost 20 years now) So in that regard I guess he didn't "inflate" anything. The fact is, his team is pretty special.

Recall the Pats running out as a team in the first Super Bowl. That was not a media creation. That was the Pats saying we do things differently here - we're about the team.

I do think it's fair to say Belichick never bought into or propogated that stuff. But Belichick has qualities that both reinforced and added to this in different ways that make it pretty complicated.

Win at all costs - that's not a media creation either. That's Spygate. That's Belichick having the hubris to ignore a specific letter of warning from the league. And underesimating the animosity of the Jets.

That became part of it. Not all the Pats fault because many teams had similar programs. But it added to the perception.

But for Belichick it was always about guys who loved football players - smart football players. Not really about character - though we took less chances on "character" issues pre Corey Dillon. That wasn't about anything but value, getting value any way you can.

Of course the problem is that smart football players means problems as you have to ignore guys who are pure athletes if they can't grasp your system.

Point is that "Patriots Way" is a lot of stuff mixed together.

But Kraft and Belichick always had different ways of thinking about it and going about it.

My hope is that they are still on the same page. I'm sure there are some interesting conversations that will happen.

I couldn't agree more. This "Patriot Way" thing I believe has been endorsed by the Krafts and rightfully so, if I owned a team I'd like to think I had some part in it's success and having a business model (the patriot way) would allow me to feel like I had done something. That's why I think this latest turn of events has to be devastating to Kraft, because this hits his department the most.

I don't believe Belichick was ever into this "Patriot Way" thing, I believe he just wants hard working, talented football players. I'm not saying he would turn the other cheak and sign a potential murderer, but I highly doubt he would hesitate to acquire questionable characters if they loved football and could play it at a high level.

I really hope Kraft and Belichick can see eye to eye going forward, because I'm sure Kraft is going to be asking Belichick some very difficult questions in the coming weeks. And honestly I don't hink Belichick will feel like he needs to answer to him (or anybody), he has worked hard and brought success to this team, he has made quite a name for himself in the NFL and he could go anywhere and name his price and title. If I'm Kraft I tread very lightly on Belichick with this one.

Hey this is football and we are no different than anyone else, which is why I always thought "The Patriot Way" was overblown. Look at the players the origanal poster listed...

At least two of those guys are not the nicest guys you are going to meet...not guys you would think of when saying "The Patriot Way". Ted Washington is a homophobic guy that pinned the trainer against the team bus (he was gay) in San Fran and began to force himself onto him while player's families watched on, this was written about 10 years ago in ESPN the magazine. And everyone knows Bryan Cox was the bad boy of the NFL for years - I was at training camp the day they signed him...the team stunk...everyone was hurt, there wasn't much talent out there and the general consensus was that we were going to finish dead last in the division. There was only two things positive I saw that day, one was Richard Seymore (a rookie at the time) driving offensive lienmen into the ground like he was a sledge hammer and they were stakes (I had never seen anything like it). And the other thing was watching Scott Pioli walk out to Belichick fist pumping and all smiles - I wondered what the hell were they so happy about? On the ride home weei announced we had just signed Bryan Cox.

Wait.

Ted Washington father of 5 who lives with his wife is gay and forced himself on a trainer in front of a bunch of families? Or the trainer was gay and forced himself on Ted Washington in front of families and Washington reacted by pinning him against the bus? In either case what is your point? The Patriots never had "class" guys? We never had "high character guys"? We all know that isn't true, so again what is your point?

Hey btw, didn't Bryan Cox come in here and conform to the team needs(patriot way or whatever title we want to give it) and win a Super Bowl? So the team didn't stink, Cox wasn't a bad boy, and was actually a key leader in the locker room for a championship roster. Isn't that the point of this game? Aqcuire players who "help the football team win" Hasn't Bill Belichick the GM been consistent on saying, and doing that for the duration of his career in N.E? I think we all know the answer is yes.

Patriots Way is Patriots above all else. Apparently some guys don't get that message there. It's time to clean house and get rid of the bad apples who don't understand this, regardless of what it would do to the team as far as position wise.

Word is BB lost the locker room a bit last season, it's time to get it back. Cleaning house would do just that.

Ted Washington father of 5 who lives with his wife is gay and forced himself on a trainer in front of a bunch of families? Or the trainer was gay and forced himself on Ted Washington in front of families and Washington reacted by pinning him against the bus?

The LATE Myra Kraft understood the “Patriot Way” better than anyone else connected to the football franchise. With one crucial call, she invented it.

Kraft, the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, died in July 2011. A key part of her legacy — and the Patriots’ now-tarnished brand after the murder charge against tight end Aaron Hernandez — is connected to what happened in 1996, after the Patriots drafted defensive tackle Christian Peter.

Peter was headed to Foxborough from the University of Nebraska with ugly baggage that included sexual assault convictions and charges. The Patriots’ brass said they didn’t know the extent of his legal problems. Besides, as then-coach Bill Parcells breezily mused, the NFL “isn’t all choirboys.”

Myra Kraft wasn’t satisfied. She took her concerns to her husband. He looked into them, and the Patriots cut Peter loose. It was the first time a drafted player was waived before the start of training camp. “I don’t want thugs and hoodlums here,” Kraft reportedly told Parcells. But Myra Kraft was the first to take a stand on the issue.

Valuing character over performance is a rarity in professional sports, but Myra Kraft believed in that quaint notion. Given the Hernandez story, the Patriots would be wise to embrace it once again.

Describing a Super Bowl showdown as just “a football game” is heresy for anyone connected to the NFL, and it’s certainly not considered the path to victory.Over the years, Myra Kraft marveled over the perspective, or lack of it, that pervades the professional sports world. In a January 1997 interview — given as the Patriots prepared to face the Green Bay Packers in what was ultimately a Super Bowl loss — she told the Globe’s Joseph P. Kahn, “I’m glad for the players; they’re a great bunch of guys. But it’s . . . a football game. I mean, God knows what else is going on in the world.”

Patriots fans know the rest of the story. Bill Belichick took over as coach in 2000. The team played in five Super Bowls and won three. During the Belichick era, the Patriots were disciplined for videotaping the New York Jets defensive coach’s signals and several players were also suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Gradually, the Patriots took on players with more checkered pasts, leading to a growing disconnect between reputation and reality.

Acquiring Corey Dillon was one of the first breaks with the Patriots’ purported brand. Dillon, charged in 2000 with assaulting his wife, was traded to the Patriots in 2003.

As the Globe’s Bob Hohler recently recounted, the Patriots began taking on even higher-risk players. The team drafted safety Willie Andrews in 2006, despite a previous gun possession conviction. Shortly after the 2008 Super Bowl, he was arrested for marijuana possession. Five months later, the Patriots let him go after his arrest for drawing a gun on his girlfriend.

The team drafted Hernandez in the fourth round in 2010, despite a failed drug test at the University of Florida and a scouting report citing aggression problems. He was arrested last week and charged with the murder of an acquaintance, Odin Lloyd.

In 2011 — shortly after Myra Kraft died — the team acquired Albert Haynesworth, who at the time was facing a trial date for a sexual assault charge and had other criminal charges on his resume. He left the Patriots after four months.

Then, in 2012, came Alfonzo Dennard, who allegedly punched a police officer in Nebraska right before the Patriots selected him and was later convicted of assault; Donte Stallworth, who was involved in a drunk driving incident in 2009 that left a man dead; and Aqib Talib, who faced charges of assaulting a taxi driver in 2009 (in an incident that resulted in a civil settlement) and firing a gun at his sister’s boyfriend in 2011 (in a case in which the charge was later dropped).

Of course, the Patriots are not alone in gambling on players with troubled histories. What sets them apart is their ability to sell a myth for as long as they did. It took a bullet-riddled body, left on the grounds of an industrial park and ultimately connected to Hernandez, to reveal the truth.

The “Patriot Way” was a play called by Myra Kraft 17 years ago — and has been out of favor for a long time.

He must feel his team is special since buying the team in 1994 we have been to more Super bowls, won more Super Bowls, and won more games then any other team in the league.(almost 20 years now) So in that regard I guess he didn't "inflate" anything. The fact is, his team is pretty special.

Recall the Pats running out as a team in the first Super Bowl. That was not a media creation. That was the Pats saying we do things differently here - we're about the team.

I do think it's fair to say Belichick never bought into or propogated that stuff. But Belichick has qualities that both reinforced and added to this in different ways that make it pretty complicated.

Win at all costs - that's not a media creation either. That's Spygate. That's Belichick having the hubris to ignore a specific letter of warning from the league. And underesimating the animosity of the Jets.

That became part of it. Not all the Pats fault because many teams had similar programs. But it added to the perception.

But for Belichick it was always about guys who loved football players - smart football players. Not really about character - though we took less chances on "character" issues pre Corey Dillon. That wasn't about anything but value, getting value any way you can.

Of course the problem is that smart football players means problems as you have to ignore guys who are pure athletes if they can't grasp your system.

Point is that "Patriots Way" is a lot of stuff mixed together.

But Kraft and Belichick always had different ways of thinking about it and going about it.

My hope is that they are still on the same page. I'm sure there are some interesting conversations that will happen.

I couldn't agree more. This "Patriot Way" thing I believe has been endorsed by the Krafts and rightfully so, if I owned a team I'd like to think I had some part in it's success and having a business model (the patriot way) would allow me to feel like I had done something. That's why I think this latest turn of events has to be devastating to Kraft, because this hits his department the most.

I don't believe Belichick was ever into this "Patriot Way" thing, I believe he just wants hard working, talented football players. I'm not saying he would turn the other cheak and sign a potential murderer, but I highly doubt he would hesitate to acquire questionable characters if they loved football and could play it at a high level.

I really hope Kraft and Belichick can see eye to eye going forward, because I'm sure Kraft is going to be asking Belichick some very difficult questions in the coming weeks. And honestly I don't hink Belichick will feel like he needs to answer to him (or anybody), he has worked hard and brought success to this team, he has made quite a name for himself in the NFL and he could go anywhere and name his price and title. If I'm Kraft I tread very lightly on Belichick with this one.

Hey this is football and we are no different than anyone else, which is why I always thought "The Patriot Way" was overblown. Look at the players the origanal poster listed...

At least two of those guys are not the nicest guys you are going to meet...not guys you would think of when saying "The Patriot Way". Ted Washington is a homophobic guy that pinned the trainer against the team bus (he was gay) in San Fran and began to force himself onto him while player's families watched on, this was written about 10 years ago in ESPN the magazine. And everyone knows Bryan Cox was the bad boy of the NFL for years - I was at training camp the day they signed him...the team stunk...everyone was hurt, there wasn't much talent out there and the general consensus was that we were going to finish dead last in the division. There was only two things positive I saw that day, one was Richard Seymore (a rookie at the time) driving offensive lienmen into the ground like he was a sledge hammer and they were stakes (I had never seen anything like it). And the other thing was watching Scott Pioli walk out to Belichick fist pumping and all smiles - I wondered what the hell were they so happy about? On the ride home weei announced we had just signed Bryan Cox.

Wait.

Ted Washington father of 5 who lives with his wife is gay and forced himself on a trainer in front of a bunch of families? Or the trainer was gay and forced himself on Ted Washington in front of families and Washington reacted by pinning him against the bus? In either case what is your point? The Patriots never had "class" guys? We never had "high character guys"? We all know that isn't true, so again what is your point?

Hey btw, didn't Bryan Cox come in here and conform to the team needs(patriot way or whatever title we want to give it) and win a Super Bowl? So the team didn't stink, Cox wasn't a bad boy, and was actually a key leader in the locker room for a championship roster. Isn't that the point of this game? Aqcuire players who "help the football team win" Hasn't Bill Belichick the GM been consistent on saying, and doing that for the duration of his career in N.E? I think we all know the answer is yes.

Hey thanks for proving my point. And it's good to see the "man of steal, defender of the koolaide" back. By the way, don't let Teddy Bear Washington know you're the man of steal, he might explain to you about that incident in San Fran up close over some fried clams.

Hey truechamp, this sound like a good date night for you?

The worst instance of harassment came at the hands of a player described as a "350-pound lineman ... a starter in this year's Super Bowl." While a member of the 49ers in the early ‘90s, this lineman would chase McLean around, "grab him from behind, push him against a locker and simulate rape. Get over here, b1tch. I know what you want. The lineman ... reprised his act whenever he could; even after he was traded to another team, he'd sneak up on McLean in the locker room or alongside the team bus."

"Kirk Reynolds, the 49ers' media relations director, witnessed one such scene. ‘There were coaches there, wives, sponsors, players, and we were all standing around waiting for the bus,' he recalls. ‘At first I thought the guy was joking. But it became clear it was something else. It was disturbing and bizarre.' McLean felt paralyzed. ‘I thought he'd get his jollies and stop,' he says. ‘But he never did. The guy is huge. What was I going to do?' "

(The player in question is Ted Washington, a former 49er who was a key member of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl-winning team. The Boston Globe was rebuffed in its attempts to contact Washington, but the player's agent, Angelo Wright, confirmed to the paper that the unidentified player was in fact Washington. Wright was upset that Washington was the only player easily identifiable. "Lindsy's just trying to sell some books," Wright told the Globe in a Feb. 15 story. "He's pointing Ted out so he can sell more books. It's an NFL locker room. It is what it is. It's the last bastion of male dominance. He probably was the target of harassment. He's trying to single out Ted Washington. Call everybody out. Charles Haley, Larry Roberts, Kevin Fagan. Don't single one guy out. There were a lot worse stories to tell about that team in the '80s than he cares to talk about. I'm not saying it was right or wrong, but in a locker room scene, what do you expect? Whatever. Everybody harassed him.")

One gets very angry reading the accounts of how Washington harassed McLean. Here we have a player, no longer with the team, abusing a member of the 49ers family and no one does anything about it. All these big, tough football players turned into a bunch of pansies when they could have stood for something important. Or else they condoned the intimidation because the target was gay. It's a sad commentary on how far we have to go in confronting homophobia in the locker room. Wright's attempt to defend his client is feeble, and for the record, McLean is not writing a book nor is he trying to profit from telling his story.

But there are some small victories in this story, times when McLean stood up for himself. "In 1997, a local TV station aired a Christmastime report on the Metropolitan Community Church," Bull writes. "McLean, as usual, was in the congregation. A player sauntered into the training room the next day, chirping about the ‘fag church,' clearly hoping to embarrass the head trainer. ‘I saw you on TV last night, McLean,' the guy said in a singsong voice. ‘I saw you!'

I felt this came about with the whole Christian Peter mess. They drafted him, the public blew them up for it, and they released him. The Pats basically said, "Yeah, you're right. This is the New England Patriots. Scum like that doesn't play here."

I felt this came about with the whole Christian Peter mess. They drafted him, the public blew them up for it, and they released him. The Pats basically said, "Yeah, you're right. This is the New England Patriots. Scum like that doesn't play here."

"Patriot Way" is more of a misnomer than anything else. Off field actvities, how the team drafts players and the personal lives of the players have no bearing on the "Patriot Way". IMHO, the "Patriot Way" describes how the team reacts to the press, most specifically, BB, and how the players rarely make headlines for what they say about their opponents and their play on the field. They may trash talk on the field, but, you do not see it much out in the public media like you see other players do. What you hear most often when the "Patriot Way" words are mentioned by the press is how a player speaks to the press about "team" this and "team" that with not much "I" in it.

Certain AFC rivals regularly accuse the Patriots of being something called "weak". Some teams have a real problem with being "weak", but BB regularly drafted or signed some of the toughest characters on the field. He didn't hire dudes who for some reason picked fights with women, just guys who fought other football players on the field. Look back at his picks some time.

BB took chances with late round draft picks on some of these guys. Now he's out a fourth rounder (after tearing up the league with Hernandez for two years) and he might be out a sixth rounder (after holding down a corner for a year with him).

Expect BB to lose almost zero in 2013 and beyond salary cap money, because all of it can be clawed back per NFL rule.

The faux hit is to the Patriots' reputation (but lots of rivals are jealous of them already) and the real hit is to the game of football itself. NFL owners are going to lose money by hiring and featuring a killer.

Recall the Pats running out as a team in the first Super Bowl. That was not a media creation. That was the Pats saying we do things differently here - we're about the team.

I do think it's fair to say Belichick never bought into or propogated that stuff. But Belichick has qualities that both reinforced and added to this in different ways that make it pretty complicated.

Win at all costs - that's not a media creation either. That's Spygate. That's Belichick having the hubris to ignore a specific letter of warning from the league. And underesimating the animosity of the Jets.

That became part of it. Not all the Pats fault because many teams had similar programs. But it added to the perception.

But for Belichick it was always about guys who loved football players - smart football players. Not really about character - though we took less chances on "character" issues pre Corey Dillon. That wasn't about anything but value, getting value any way you can.

Of course the problem is that smart football players means problems as you have to ignore guys who are pure athletes if they can't grasp your system.

Point is that "Patriots Way" is a lot of stuff mixed together.

But Kraft and Belichick always had different ways of thinking about it and going about it.

My hope is that they are still on the same page. I'm sure there are some interesting conversations that will happen.

I couldn't agree more. This "Patriot Way" thing I believe has been endorsed by the Krafts and rightfully so, if I owned a team I'd like to think I had some part in it's success and having a business model (the patriot way) would allow me to feel like I had done something. That's why I think this latest turn of events has to be devastating to Kraft, because this hits his department the most.

I don't believe Belichick was ever into this "Patriot Way" thing, I believe he just wants hard working, talented football players. I'm not saying he would turn the other cheak and sign a potential murderer, but I highly doubt he would hesitate to acquire questionable characters if they loved football and could play it at a high level.

I really hope Kraft and Belichick can see eye to eye going forward, because I'm sure Kraft is going to be asking Belichick some very difficult questions in the coming weeks. And honestly I don't hink Belichick will feel like he needs to answer to him (or anybody), he has worked hard and brought success to this team, he has made quite a name for himself in the NFL and he could go anywhere and name his price and title. If I'm Kraft I tread very lightly on Belichick with this one.

Hey this is football and we are no different than anyone else, which is why I always thought "The Patriot Way" was overblown. Look at the players the origanal poster listed...

At least two of those guys are not the nicest guys you are going to meet...not guys you would think of when saying "The Patriot Way". Ted Washington is a homophobic guy that pinned the trainer against the team bus (he was gay) in San Fran and began to force himself onto him while player's families watched on, this was written about 10 years ago in ESPN the magazine. And everyone knows Bryan Cox was the bad boy of the NFL for years - I was at training camp the day they signed him...the team stunk...everyone was hurt, there wasn't much talent out there and the general consensus was that we were going to finish dead last in the division. There was only two things positive I saw that day, one was Richard Seymore (a rookie at the time) driving offensive lienmen into the ground like he was a sledge hammer and they were stakes (I had never seen anything like it). And the other thing was watching Scott Pioli walk out to Belichick fist pumping and all smiles - I wondered what the hell were they so happy about? On the ride home weei announced we had just signed Bryan Cox.

Wait.

Ted Washington father of 5 who lives with his wife is gay and forced himself on a trainer in front of a bunch of families? Or the trainer was gay and forced himself on Ted Washington in front of families and Washington reacted by pinning him against the bus? In either case what is your point? The Patriots never had "class" guys? We never had "high character guys"? We all know that isn't true, so again what is your point?

Hey btw, didn't Bryan Cox come in here and conform to the team needs(patriot way or whatever title we want to give it) and win a Super Bowl? So the team didn't stink, Cox wasn't a bad boy, and was actually a key leader in the locker room for a championship roster. Isn't that the point of this game? Aqcuire players who "help the football team win" Hasn't Bill Belichick the GM been consistent on saying, and doing that for the duration of his career in N.E? I think we all know the answer is yes.

Hey thanks for proving my point. And it's good to see the "man of steal, defender of the koolaide" back. By the way, don't let Teddy Bear Washington know you're the man of steal, he might explain to you about that incident in San Fran up close over some fried clams.

Hey truechamp, this sound like a good date night for you?

The worst instance of harassment came at the hands of a player described as a "350-pound lineman ... a starter in this year's Super Bowl." While a member of the 49ers in the early ‘90s, this lineman would chase McLean around, "grab him from behind, push him against a locker and simulate rape. Get over here, b1tch. I know what you want. The lineman ... reprised his act whenever he could; even after he was traded to another team, he'd sneak up on McLean in the locker room or alongside the team bus."

"Kirk Reynolds, the 49ers' media relations director, witnessed one such scene. ‘There were coaches there, wives, sponsors, players, and we were all standing around waiting for the bus,' he recalls. ‘At first I thought the guy was joking. But it became clear it was something else. It was disturbing and bizarre.' McLean felt paralyzed. ‘I thought he'd get his jollies and stop,' he says. ‘But he never did. The guy is huge. What was I going to do?' "

(The player in question is Ted Washington, a former 49er who was a key member of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl-winning team. The Boston Globe was rebuffed in its attempts to contact Washington, but the player's agent, Angelo Wright, confirmed to the paper that the unidentified player was in fact Washington. Wright was upset that Washington was the only player easily identifiable. "Lindsy's just trying to sell some books," Wright told the Globe in a Feb. 15 story. "He's pointing Ted out so he can sell more books. It's an NFL locker room. It is what it is. It's the last bastion of male dominance. He probably was the target of harassment. He's trying to single out Ted Washington. Call everybody out. Charles Haley, Larry Roberts, Kevin Fagan. Don't single one guy out. There were a lot worse stories to tell about that team in the '80s than he cares to talk about. I'm not saying it was right or wrong, but in a locker room scene, what do you expect? Whatever. Everybody harassed him.")

One gets very angry reading the accounts of how Washington harassed McLean. Here we have a player, no longer with the team, abusing a member of the 49ers family and no one does anything about it. All these big, tough football players turned into a bunch of pansies when they could have stood for something important. Or else they condoned the intimidation because the target was gay. It's a sad commentary on how far we have to go in confronting homophobia in the locker room. Wright's attempt to defend his client is feeble, and for the record, McLean is not writing a book nor is he trying to profit from telling his story.

But there are some small victories in this story, times when McLean stood up for himself. "In 1997, a local TV station aired a Christmastime report on the Metropolitan Community Church," Bull writes. "McLean, as usual, was in the congregation. A player sauntered into the training room the next day, chirping about the ‘fag church,' clearly hoping to embarrass the head trainer. ‘I saw you on TV last night, McLean,' the guy said in a singsong voice. ‘I saw you!'

Well there you have it. Ted Washington represents the evil patriot way. I am shocked that guys in an NFL locker room harrass each other. This is one of the worst situations i have ever heard of. If Goodell was the commish back then Washington would have been stoned to death, ot at least knee capped. Probably should have been some red flags that he was this type of MONSTER, perhaps he picked on other kids in highschool too? Or handed out wedgies on a regular basis!

In any case BB should have known, just like the writing was on the wall Hernandez was a murderer. I mean he smoked pot for Gods sake. Excellent work here Mthurtl. You have opened up my eyes. This Bill Belichick guy is basically satans spawn, searching for the scum of the earth in order to pay them a bunch of cash and finance their assault on humanity.

Hey btw, whats worse? You calling me a koolaider for defending the team who's won more games and championships then any other for the 19 years Kraft has owned it, or that anybody even has to defend that team, or that GM, or that coach, or that owner, or whatever?

The LATE Myra Kraft understood the “Patriot Way” better than anyone else connected to the football franchise. With one crucial call, she invented it.

Kraft, the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, died in July 2011. A key part of her legacy — and the Patriots’ now-tarnished brand after the murder charge against tight end Aaron Hernandez — is connected to what happened in 1996, after the Patriots drafted defensive tackle Christian Peter.

Peter was headed to Foxborough from the University of Nebraska with ugly baggage that included sexual assault convictions and charges. The Patriots’ brass said they didn’t know the extent of his legal problems. Besides, as then-coach Bill Parcells breezily mused, the NFL “isn’t all choirboys.”

Myra Kraft wasn’t satisfied. She took her concerns to her husband. He looked into them, and the Patriots cut Peter loose. It was the first time a drafted player was waived before the start of training camp. “I don’t want thugs and hoodlums here,” Kraft reportedly told Parcells. But Myra Kraft was the first to take a stand on the issue.

Valuing character over performance is a rarity in professional sports, but Myra Kraft believed in that quaint notion. Given the Hernandez story, the Patriots would be wise to embrace it once again.

Describing a Super Bowl showdown as just “a football game” is heresy for anyone connected to the NFL, and it’s certainly not considered the path to victory.Over the years, Myra Kraft marveled over the perspective, or lack of it, that pervades the professional sports world. In a January 1997 interview — given as the Patriots prepared to face the Green Bay Packers in what was ultimately a Super Bowl loss — she told the Globe’s Joseph P. Kahn, “I’m glad for the players; they’re a great bunch of guys. But it’s . . . a football game. I mean, God knows what else is going on in the world.”

Patriots fans know the rest of the story. Bill Belichick took over as coach in 2000. The team played in five Super Bowls and won three. During the Belichick era, the Patriots were disciplined for videotaping the New York Jets defensive coach’s signals and several players were also suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Gradually, the Patriots took on players with more checkered pasts, leading to a growing disconnect between reputation and reality.

Acquiring Corey Dillon was one of the first breaks with the Patriots’ purported brand. Dillon, charged in 2000 with assaulting his wife, was traded to the Patriots in 2003.

As the Globe’s Bob Hohler recently recounted, the Patriots began taking on even higher-risk players. The team drafted safety Willie Andrews in 2006, despite a previous gun possession conviction. Shortly after the 2008 Super Bowl, he was arrested for marijuana possession. Five months later, the Patriots let him go after his arrest for drawing a gun on his girlfriend.

The team drafted Hernandez in the fourth round in 2010, despite a failed drug test at the University of Florida and a scouting report citing aggression problems. He was arrested last week and charged with the murder of an acquaintance, Odin Lloyd.

In 2011 — shortly after Myra Kraft died — the team acquired Albert Haynesworth, who at the time was facing a trial date for a sexual assault charge and had other criminal charges on his resume. He left the Patriots after four months.

Then, in 2012, came Alfonzo Dennard, who allegedly punched a police officer in Nebraska right before the Patriots selected him and was later convicted of assault; Donte Stallworth, who was involved in a drunk driving incident in 2009 that left a man dead; and Aqib Talib, who faced charges of assaulting a taxi driver in 2009 (in an incident that resulted in a civil settlement) and firing a gun at his sister’s boyfriend in 2011 (in a case in which the charge was later dropped).

Of course, the Patriots are not alone in gambling on players with troubled histories. What sets them apart is their ability to sell a myth for as long as they did. It took a bullet-riddled body, left on the grounds of an industrial park and ultimately connected to Hernandez, to reveal the truth.

The “Patriot Way” was a play called by Myra Kraft 17 years ago — and has been out of favor for a long time.

Nice perspective. IMO the Patriot Way has not been about character and your article shows the myth of that perspective. Rather it has been about getting guys who are versatile, self sacrificing of their own interests to play for the team. Mike Vrabel has best exemplified this. We got him from the Steelers for little, he played above what people thought he could as a linebacker, he was versatile doubling at tight end and catching TD's to seal wins. Thus, the Patriot way has been about transcending self imposed limitations via sacrifice for the team.

The thing is we cannot ignore character and we need to distinguish guys from who have aggression problems from guys who have a pre established history of being a thug. Not an easy task but something we need to pay more attention to.